The world's most expensive footballer was once just one of many prospects in Brazil. That all changed in 2010. Jack Lang remembers a breakout campaign of tricks, trophies and tantrums
How could it be that a goalscorer as prodigious as the Toxteth tyro remains so revered, yet also deemed a disappointment? Seb Stafford-Bloor recalls the season 'God' was outed as a Red
From a swing of the boot at Selhurst Park to becoming one of the most famous footballers in history. Amit Katwala revisits the season that Beckham took off
Thirty years before last season’s resurgence, Ajax had a similar renaissance thanks to a teenage schoolboy. Yet it was a late plane flight that made the non-flying Dutchman’s career take off...
A troubled exit from Brazil left the brilliant 21-year-old benched and fed up in France, yet the season ended with him in magical form and heading to the World Cup
Three years after an £11m move from West Ham, Lampard was a fine midfielder but yet to prove himself a special one. Then a new gaffer swaggered into Chelsea...
His slow start at Highbury is well known, but less so is just how close a doubt-riddled 22-year-old came to giving up on himself. By this season’s end, the only people throwing in the towel were opposition defenders
How do you score 40 goals in 46 games, deliver major silverware and still end up disliked by all of those around you? Suffice to say, the brilliant Brazilian forward packed a lot into his solitary season at the Camp Nou
Hounded out of France as a troublemaker, distrusted by his manager at Leeds, the 26-year-old Cantona signed for Manchester United for £1.2m – and became a legend
From an unknown kid suffering relegation to the hottest young striker in Europe: how the 2002/03 season changed the life of this young Spaniard forever
